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Amid the hundreds of marathon story pitches that have filtered through the inbox this week, some are a bit more interesting than others.

Here's a brief collection of the more interesting items I've seen, and some links you might be interested in.

-- The expo is at the Seaport World Trade Center this year. I have already had two people call me from Hynes and ask where the heck the expo was.

-- One of the more interesting attractions at the expo this weekend might be the PowerBar Boston Marathon Race Simulator. According to the press release: "Experience the mental and physical milestones this year's Boston Marathoners will encounter on race day." Or, you know, you could just go outside and run 26.2 miles.

-- AT&T, which offers a runner tracker on its website, will have video screens set up along the course and at the finish area that will display text messages sent to runners. Text a message to 567890 to have it considered for showing. AT&T will also have calling stations at the finish area and free wi-fi for AT&T customers at the start and finish areas.

-- Patriots running back Danny Woodhead will be at the expo pitching Skechers from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday.

-- A group of 19 meteorology students from UMass-Lowell will be assisting the Boston Athletic Association in tracking weather conditions during the race, and their findings are to be used both by those covering the race (weather is certain to be a top story line on Monday) and the BAA. They are led by Prof. Frank Colby.

-- City Sports is hosting a free viewing party at its store in Wellesley on Monday (bleachers, freebies and a DJ), and also springing for free trolley rides over marathon weekend. It will have a trolley loop from the expo to City Sports on Boylston to NikeTown.

Ty Velde is a 16-time Boston qualifier who's completed 12 consecutive Boston Marathons and 25 marathons overall. Ty is now training for his 13th Boston run and will provide training tips for those who train solo and outside, no matter what temperature it is.

Rich 'Shifter' Horgan is a 19-time Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team member who runs in honor of his father, who died of colon cancer. He will provide updates on local running events with a focus on the charitable organizations that provide Boston Marathon entries for their organization's fund raising purposes